Overtime Hours & Article 36 Agreement Limit Checker | Free 45h/Month & 360h/Year Alert

Enter your monthly overtime and holiday-work hours to instantly check compliance against Japan's Article 36 Agreement (36-kyotei) limits: 45 hours/month and 360 hours/year in principle, or up to 720 hours/year, under 100 hours/month, and a 2-6 month average of 80 hours/month with a special clause.

Tips

  • The Article 36 Agreement judges overtime and holiday work differently. The basic caps (45h/month, 360h/year) only count overtime hours, but the special-clause caps (under 100h/month, 80h/month averaged over multiple months) add holiday work on top.
  • The rolling average check must pass for every window ending at the current month: the last 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 months. Even if the current month looks fine, a single high month buried further back can push a longer average over 80 hours.
  • Even with a special clause in place, a month can exceed 45 hours no more than 6 times per fiscal year. Exceeding it a 7th time is a violation regardless of whether the 100h/month or 720h/year caps are still satisfied.
  • This tool is a self-reported estimate for reference only. Use your company's official attendance records for real compliance decisions, and talk to your manager or HR early if you're approaching any of these limits.

Frequently Asked Questions

In principle, 45 hours per month and 360 hours per year. With a special clause covering temporary, exceptional circumstances, this can be extended to 720 hours per year, but even then you must also stay under 100 hours in any single month (including holiday work), average no more than 80 hours over any 2-6 month span (including holiday work), and exceed 45 hours in no more than 6 months per year.

It calculates the 2-month, 3-month, 4-month, 5-month, and 6-month averages ending in the current month, and every single one must be 80 hours or less (overtime plus holiday work). Even a light current month can fail this check if an earlier heavy month pulls a longer-window average above 80 hours.

Overtime is time worked beyond the statutory limits of 8 hours/day or 40 hours/week; holiday work is time worked on a statutory rest day (one day per week). The basic 45h/month and 360h/year caps count only overtime, but the special-clause checks (100h/month, 80h average) add both together.

Because this is a criminally enforceable regulation, a violating employer can face up to 6 months' imprisonment or a fine of up to 300,000 yen, in addition to corrective guidance and possible public disclosure by the Labor Standards Inspection Office. If you're approaching any of these limits, addressing it early is important.
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Side Note — The "karoshi line" and Japan's overtime cap regulation

The Article 36 Agreement (named after Article 36 of Japan's Labor Standards Act) is the legal mechanism that makes overtime and holiday work possible at all: by default, working beyond the statutory 8 hours/day or 40 hours/week is prohibited, and a company must file this labor-management agreement with the local Labor Standards Inspection Office before it can legally ask employees to work overtime.

Amendments that took effect in April 2019 (April 2020 for small and medium-sized businesses) elevated what used to be non-binding administrative guidance into a legally enforceable cap with criminal penalties. The special-clause thresholds — under 100 hours in any single month and an 80-hour average over 2 to 6 months — were set to match the so-called "karoshi line," the overtime level Japan's workers' compensation authorities treat as strongly linked to death or serious illness from overwork.

Even the basic 45-hour/month, 360-hour/year cap reflects a level where health risk is considered to rise if sustained. The special clause is meant strictly for temporary, exceptional circumstances — a workplace that habitually runs right up against these ceilings is a clear signal that its labor management needs a rethink.

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